Cervidae: The First Clockwork City
by InaereiShadowsong
Summary: Centuries of drought led mankind to create colossal Mechanical Cities to live in. Aura, eldest of four orphans, has just graduated and is looking forward to the future. But the sudden return of her supposedly dead father, an attempt on the City leader's life, and a meeting with a strange pilot drags her and her loved ones into a catastrophic war that has been brewing for decades.
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

"Come here, sweetie," a man with shaggy jet black hair and soft gray eyes cooed to a little girl staring out the window of a massive airship climbing higher into the sky. She bounded up to the man, her black hair in curls reaching down to her shoulders and tickling the head of the teddy bear in her arms. The man hoisted her up as she let out cute little giggles.

"What is it daddy?" The sparkle in her eyes matched her father's.

Before the man could reply, a deep, jolly voice rang out from the speakers, catching everyone's attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. On behalf of all the staff of the Northern Airship 15A, I would like to thank you all for riding with us today. If you make your way to the viewing platform at the bottom of the airship, you will see the Great City of Cervidae in just a few minutes. This is the perfect opportunity to snatch some pictures folks! It's going to be a long time before you see any of the Great Cities from the outside so don't waste the chance!"

"How about we go find your mother?" the man chuckled as the captain's voice disappeared and the chatters of the other passengers began again. He carried his daughter through the crowd, half of which took the captain's advice and herded towards the viewing platform. He wound his way towards the other side of the luxurious airship. The little girl's eyes were everywhere; from the marble white walls to the polished wooden floorboards and from the gentle smile on her father's face to the ever changing expression on the faces of others. The crowd cleared a bit and the little girl's gray eyes lit up at the sight of a familiar woman laughing.

"C'mon boys! Don't go too far now!" the woman laughed. She sat on one of the seats that lined the interior of the passenger airship. The dark haired man put his daughter down, whose little legs immediately ran towards her mother. She had wavy dark brown hair curling down her back and a smile shining brightly like her light blue eyes.

Two identical boys with the same black hair and gray eyes appeared out of nowhere and ran towards the man. He let out a chuckle and scooped the two boys on his shoulders as they laughed and tried to squirm away.

The little girl grabbed her mother's arm and smiled up to her. "Can we go see the City, Mommy? Please?"

"I think that's a great idea darling," the woman smiled down to her daughter as the man took the seat beside her after setting the two boys down next to the girl. Mother and father smiled down to their children who looked up to them with similar eager gray eyes. "What do you think, Aiden? Should we go see the City of Cervidae?"

"Of course we should. The captain is right. We won't get another chance to see the City of Cervidae in all its glory. This is a photo perfect opportunity." The man smiled to his children then stood up. He offered his hand to his wife who blushed slightly and took it. She hooked her arm around his as the three children raced towards the stairs. By this time, the crowd in the passenger area of the airship has thinned out. Most of them took the captain's advice and have found their way to the viewing platform below. A handful of individuals stayed behind scribbling in their journals, reading the papers or snoozing off.

"Don't go too far ahead!" the mother called out to her children. The little girl and her twin brothers bounced eagerly at the top of the stairs and waited for their parents.

"How big do you think Cervidae is going to be?" One of the twins exclaimed excitedly.

"Dad said it was the largest of the three Great Cities!" His twin replied just as excited.

Their parents reached the top of the stairs and led the way down. The little girl hugged the purplish furry bear closer to her chest as they descended down to the viewing platform. Their father and grandparents have depicted epics of the exalted City on the back of the colossal mechanical stag. She and her brothers have spent countless nights imagining, dreaming, and praying that one day, their gray eyes would be graced by the City. The family reached the bottom of the stairs and the children bolted towards the last available spot near the windows. In contrast with the marble white walls of the passenger area, the walls of the viewing platform were made of reinforced glass to keep the weather out but still show the magnificence of the view.

For now, all the children saw were the rocky sides of the Shelf Mountain Range, named from the terraces that the geological monument had on its sides. It was said that it once had waterfalls cascading down those rocky shelves and was considered as one of the most beautiful things in this world. But that disappeared after the Calamity, along with most of other wonders Earth had to offer.

The little girl's eyes wandered down to the barren Earth. The airship was miles and miles into the air to avoid any weather in the lower atmosphere. Even in that height, the girl could not see past the cyclopean ocean of sand beneath them, a painful reminder that the Earth was once a luscious paradise for God's children. A loud boom shook the ground. Loose rocks plummeted from the Shelf Mountains. There was an eerie silent pause. The little girl's body tensed, so did everyone else's on the viewing platform. Each one of them held their breath, waiting, anticipating for what will happen next. Another earth shattering boom made the girl jump. She heard her father chuckle and felt herself lifted into his arms.

"Don't worry," he chuckled to his daughter. "It's not an earthquake or anything scary. It's just Cervidae."

The girl looked bewilderedly at her father then out the window. Her jaw dropped when the airship flew past the last of the Shelf Mountains. A monumental structure, in the shape of a prideful deer with its antlers disappearing into the clouds, walked on its massive mechanical legs. Millions of tons of metal held the mechanical deer together, supporting hundreds of buildings on its back, miles from the barren earth below, putting a literal meaning to the name 'skyscraper'. Metal coverings hid away the inner mechanisms of its side and face. Some of the giant iron pumps and mechanical machines showed through the gaps on the legs bracings. The bottom half of its hind legs, right under where it bends, were cars of large sizes, meant to scour the rough earth surface. The noticeable wingspans of giant planes lined the top half. Glass tinted black showed where the eyes of the deer should be, where its pilots can have a full view of what was needed to see. The tops of the antlers were open, allowing dark grey smoke to leave the machine. Large chutes on its 'hooves' pointed upwards, also releasing fumes into the air.

Another thunderous footstep from the colossal Mega-City made the girl drop her bear and throw her arms around her father's neck, burrowing her face into his shoulder. The man let out a laugh and murmured words of comfort into her hair. She reluctantly looked back at the moving city. The airship flew around the Mega-City, revealing the metropolis on its back. The girl's grey eyes wandered through the visible buildings and mused with the idea of walking through its streets with her family. The loud steps no longer scared her and excitement filled up whatever space her fear left behind.

The grey-eyed man placed his daughter down as the twins scrambled up his back and settled on his shoulders. The little girl picked her bear up and placed her tiny hand inside her mother's warm and soft ones. The man wrapped his arm around his wife and beamed at his family as they looked out the glass to the mechanical city.

"This is our new home. The Great City of Cervidae."

1


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

DELIVERY SERVICE

"Here's your package ma'am."

"Thank you so much young lady," the old woman rasped as she returned the clipboard back to the deliverer.

"Have a good day!" Aura called back as she climbed down the metal stairs onto the street. The old woman waved as the younger girl strode away. After tucking the clipboard under her arm, Aura let her gray eyes wander over the brass buildings as her feet went into autopilot, winding her way around the usual morning crowd. The ground itself swayed noticeably but the crowd was used to it.

"Aura!" a small voice called from behind and above. Aura whipped around, her long black hair braided over her shoulder almost hitting her face. She swatted it away and searched for whoever called her name.

"Up here!"

Aura looked up, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Her eyes immediately zoned in on a figure bounding over buildings. She let out a chuckle then pushed through the crowd until she reached the walls of a nearby building. Aura's smile grew bigger as a familiar tingling resonated through her muscles. She took a deep breath and jumped into action. She jumped on the stairs leading up to the front door, grabbed onto the wrought iron lamp on the high corner and swung herself to the side of the building. As soon as her feet made contact with the brass walls, she kicked off and landed on the wall of another building. _Thank goodness for these shoes,_ Aura thought as she continued to jump on the sides of the building until she reached the top and almost ran into another girl.

"You called?" Aura smiled at the other when she regained her composure.

"You got up here fast," the other girl mumbled. "Wall jumping?" she asked, referring to the method Aura used to get to the top of the building.

Aura nodded and surveyed the other girl. They wore the same Hermes uniform; a fitting brown shirt with a silver stripe going diagonally down the front, thick black pants and big brown boots. A messenger hung around her waist as a thermos bounced against her hip. "It's easier with the shoes."

"Well of course! These things have one heck of a grip," her friend replied, referring to the thick rubber soles of the Hermes uniform boots.

"How many more deliveries do you have to do, Aimee?"

"Three more. You?" Aimee replied.

"Just one close to headquarters. We can do that one last."

"Alright then," Aimee sighed. "I've listed my deliveries to lead to headquarters anyways. The first one is pretty close. It's in that building over there." Aimee pointed a finger to a building in the next block. She made her way to the edge of the building and leaped onto the next one without hesitation. Aura wasn't far behind her.

_I love this job,_ Aura mused to herself as she and Aimee started running to the other side of the building. Since she was a child, she had always wanted to be a Hermes, the City's delivery force named after the Greek god. She loved the feeling of adrenaline pumping through her veins as her body flipped through the air. As deliverers, they had to know the quickest and most efficient way to deliver packages for the day. That means they had to know the City like the back of their hands and quickly determine the quickest path through the brass buildings. Memorizing the City layout down to the sidewalk cracks was easy compared to the physical training needed to bound over buildings, sprint at incredible speeds as well as self defense for anyone who wants to cause trouble.

Their feet pounded on the brass roofs of the buildings. At this height, Aura was able to enjoy the view. She couldn't see the whole City of Cervidae but the head of the stag was visible just about anywhere on its back. The Horologrium_, _a giant of a clock, ticked proudly on the back of the City of Cervidae's neck. Right under it, Aura was barely able to see the white dot that she knew was the luxurious home of the Power of Cervidae, Frank Pelbourne. Aura's eyes wandered over the City skyline. She saw the tall metal skyscrapers of the Inner Ring, where the business district and the elite housings were. She's been there plenty of times on delivery runs but was surprised when she barely any people actually living there. Most of the City population, close to a billion people, has a job there but they come and go during the day.

Aura glanced at Aimee. Her friend's fiery red hair was in a typical ponytail to keep it from her face. It whipped behind her as she leaped onto the next building. She was short for her age, only reaching up Aura's nose, though Aura wasn't that tall either. She was also quite thin and looked fragile but Aura knew that she was capable to taking down a fully grown man. The two of them were partners in crime and the best of friends.

"This is the place," Aimee declared as they landed on the building she indicated before. "'Granger Morrison at 43 minutes and 84th Ring, 1896 Olivia's Children Hospital,'" she read the address on the package. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Aura waved at her as she scaled down to the entrance window on the floor she needed to. Aura made her way to the ledge and sat down, letting her feet dangle. Her grey eyes surveyed the various people walking up and down the street. There was no way any vehicle would fit in the street with so many people. _It's the middle of the day. Shouldn't these people go to work or school?_ Aura mentally slapped herself. "It's Saturday," she sighed softly. Everyone gets Saturday off, except for the Hermes apprentices who have to work mornings. She looked up and down the street, unable to see its ends.

When the Forerunners created the Great Cities, they had a circular plan of a clock for the streets. They began at the center of the Inner Ring and reached to ends of the mechanical stag. There were sixty streets, each named after which ever minute they ran on a clock. These were called the Minute Streets. There were also streets that crossed them. Aimee had called them ripple streets because they were just two hundred rings that circled outward from the center. Ring 1 to Ring 50 holds the Inner Ring. The Middle Ring sits between Rings 50 and 150 while the Outer Ring is between Ring 150 to 200. It was much like a polar graph that they had to learn about in Basic Schooling which made memorizing them much easier.

"Hey," a masculine voice broke Aura's wandering thoughts. "Whatcha up to?"

"Soul-searching. I think that I want to leave my life as a human being. I feel that I am meant to have a shell the size of my body so I can just hang out in there and do what I want with the luxury of privacy," Aura turned to the owner of the voice. "Don't you just dream about carrying around a shell on your back, Derek?"

"Hell yeah. I definitely want to be a human-sized turtle lugging around a big-ass shell for the fun of it," Derek replied sarcastically as Aura rose to her feet. "Where's Aimee?"

"The ginger is over there,"—Aura pointed—"delivering something."

"Okay well, when the _ginger_ returns," Derek started and pulled out a long sealed tube and a note card from his messenger bag then handed them to her. "Make sure that the two of you deliver this."

Aura scanned the address printed near the end. "'IMA center at 35 minutes and 180th Ring,' sounds like your area. Are you allowed to give this to us?"

"Well today's a special day for the two of you so I'll let you have this one, and it's not like I haven't gave you guys some more _important_ assignments before. Besides, that building is pretty slick, you guys should definitely check it out."

"Aura! I'm _baaack_!" Aimee's voice sang out as her small pale hand grabbed the ledge. She swung onto the ledge and almost tripped at the sight of Derek. "H-hey, wha-what are you doing here?"

Aura couldn't help but grin at her friend's stammering for she knew of her long time infatuation on the boy in front of them. Aura wasn't surprised when Aimee told her. Derek wasn't exactly bad looking either with his tall lanky build, curling brown hair, tanned skin and warm green eyes. His slim frame towered over her. He was wearing the same Hermes uniform and a dark green scarf that made his eyes look brighter hung loosely around his neck. Aimee told of her infatuation weeks after they began their apprenticeship in Madame Ophelda's Hermes Delivery Service five years ago. Derek, who was only a year older, became her teacher while his mother, Madame Ophelda herself, was Aura's.

"There's my little ginger. Just giving you a package to deliver," Derek replied and nodded towards the tube in Aura's hands.

"Hmm…If we add this to the other two deliveries you have to make," Aura started and did a quick calculation in her head. "That'll give us about two hours to get ready."

"Only two? How far is it?" Instead of answering her, Aura handed her the tube. After reading the address, she just said "oh".

"Don't worry about that, ladies," Derek chuckled and strode over to Aimee. He placed a hand on her waist and undid the clasp on her messenger bag. "I'll take care of these deliveries. You just worry about that one."

"Sure thing," Aura replied after she realized that Aimee temporarily lost the ability to speak. The poor girl was blushing so hard that the shade almost matched her hair. Aura hoped that Derek wouldn't notice and make it even more awkward. And as always, he didn't.

"Mom and I want you back at headquarters as soon as you finish that delivery. We have a little tradition that we do the morning a delivery apprentice graduates," Derek added, swing Aimee's messenger pack over his shoulder. "See you then."

"Bye," Aimee squeaked as Derek hopped off the side of the building. The girls didn't see him again until he did a cartwheel onto another building, waving back at them.

"You know, with all that blushing you do when he just _talks _to you, I'm surprised he hasn't noticed your infatuation," Aura whispered to her friend.

"Oh shut up," Aimee muttered and leaped onto the next building with all the grace of a ballerina with a pebble in her shoe. She almost tripped when she landed.

"Look at you. You almost fell off a building when you saw him. I'm sure he'll find _that_ attractive," Aura teased as she landed gracefully next to her. "Maybe I should carry the package."

"Yeah," Aimee muttered, still fighting the blush on her cheeks and handed the tube to her friend. "You'd think that after five years I'd get the guts to tell him."

"You already have guts. They come with the body you get at birth. If they didn't, well, that's a major problem. However," Aura added as she led the way to their destination, "I do agree. It has been five years that you've been swooning over him."

"I don't _swoon,_" Aimee whined defensively, following her.

"Lies," Aura mockingly accused in a nightmarish voice.

"I don't think I can tell him. He sees me as a little sister," Aimee continued, ignoring her.

"Now you're just making excuses. But I am done pushing you. I've pushed you for years; you just need to get the guts. But if you need encouraging, you know where I am. "

"I have guts. I got them at _birth_, remember?" Aimee sneered.

"Fine, the _courage_," Aura amended as she flipped over the street, relishing the cool wind sliding over her body and waited on the other building for Aimee. Aura knew better than to worry for her when making long jumps. She may be shorter than average size but she always pulled through. No, it was her clumsiness that worried Aura. There were too many times that she had to pull her red-headed friend to safety. This time, Aimee landed just fine.

"Do you think he's noticed?" Aimee whispered, a little breathless from the jump.

The far off boom of the one of the stag's mechanical legs rang through the air as it stepped onto the surface of the Earth miles and miles below them.

"If he has, he hasn't shown it. I've heard from Ollie that Derek is good at hiding his emotions."

"Speaking of Oliver-" Aimee started.

"Oh don't you bring that up again," Aura snapped. "We are just friends."

"What if he likes you?

"What if he _doesn't_? We've been friends since we met. We're not the kind that feels obligated to date to see if it would work out. We're okay as friends, and our friendship is nothing that either of us wants to lose."

"_You_ are okay with being just friends. What if he has feelings?" Aimee countered.

"Well, he hasn't shown any signs. If he does have feelings for me, he's done a heck of a job of hiding them," Aura muttered. She has always prided herself with reading people. As the eldest of four children, reading her younger siblings comes in handy.

"Whatever. Let's just get this delivery over with so we can get ready for graduation," Aimee concluded and hopped onto the next building with Aura not too far behind her.

* * *

"Well, Derek's right. It is a nice building," Aura observed as Aimee's mouth dropped. The IMA center was a large silver building that stuck out the side of the stag. It was shining, windowless and shrouded in shadow. The two of them had passed by it twice before they actually found it.

IMA stood for the Inner Mechanisms Area. It was off limits to most of the population. _Authorized personnel only._ Aura thought bitterly as they approached the building. Almost all of the IMA entrances are in the Outer Ring. There were less people there and is the most hazardous place in the City. The Inner and Middle Ring are perched on the back of the mechanical stag but the Outer Ring hangs off the sides, giving it the nickname the Hanging Ring. The streets were basically ladders and elevators that scaled the stag's sides. Most people stay away from the Outer Ring but it is a useful place for prisons, storage areas and other things that the City needs but don't have room for in the other Rings. This was also where all the outcasts and those who have nothing in the other rings stay.

"So, who exactly do we give that to?" Aimee whispered. She and Aura had landed on the ledge of the IMA center. There were two members of the Phalanx Guard, the City's military force, flanking the sealed chrome doors of the center. Both had stoic expressions under their helmets and stood with arms crossed over the long rifles in their arms. "Is this even the right place?"

"This is the address. Let's just ask one of these guys," Aura stepped forward and addressed the Phalanx member on the left. "We are Hermes Deliverers under Madame Olpheda's authority. We have a package to a Mister, um," she stared at the name of the recipient, "Someone known as 1903427-FT34."

The two Guard members looked at one another. Something about them looked familiar to Aura. They must be brothers because they had the same auburn hair, brown eyes and similar angular faces. The one Aura addressed nodded and said "Right this way Hermes," addressing Aura and Aimee professionally. "Go up to the front desk and repeat what you just told us."

"Thank you," Aura returned and stepped through the door. Aimee stayed quiet and small as she followed her.

_Slick._ That's what Derek described the IMA centers as. And he was right, that was definitely the word to use. Everything, from the walls to the floor to the front desk was shining chrome. The room was large but empty save for the desk and a couple waiting chairs against the back wall. There were three doors, one on the left, one the right, and the last leading outside.

"Can I help you?" a woman in her late twenties called to them. She had ash blonde hair and wore a fitting silver jacket with matching pants. Her eyes stared at them in an unfriendly way that contrasted with the smile plastered on her face. The letters "IMA" were stitched over the hear t of her jacket. Aura repeated what she said to the Guard member earlier. "Ah yes, he will be pleased that the blue prints have finally arrived. I'll take it to him myself," she sneered, obviously not liking the interaction she's making with Aura, and held out a hand.

Aura didn't do anything but stare at the woman. "I'm sorry ma'am but the recipient must sign this," she held out the small note card that Derek gave her along with the tube. "And a Hermes must be present when they are signing it.

A flash of annoyance passed through the woman's faced, only to be quickly replaced with that trained smile. "Yes, of course. That _is _the Hermes policy, of course."

"Yes ma'am," Aura replied sweetly, not liking the way the woman said _Hermes_, as if she was disgusted by it. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience." _Not._

The woman left without another word. "Well she seemed nice," Aimee snorted. Aura rolled her eyes. Hermes deliverers belong in different branches. Apprentices delivered the common packages between commoners and small deliveries. There is a branch for large and heavy packages, one for long distance, another for food and so forth. Only Madame Ophelda and her handpicked trustees can deliver important packages from the government and are usually escorted by four others. Whatever branch they belong in, they get special access to different things. Some tend to abuse those privileges and have led plenty to dislike deliverers.

The tube was clearly a government package delivery and being Ophelda's son, Derek has the ranking and government trust to deliver their packages. Aura remembered that he didn't even have to go through an apprenticeship since he already wanted to be a Hermes and his mother probably trained him since he could walk. _Why give us a package like this when we're only apprentices? _The woman came back with a graying old man that Aura recognized instantly. "Dr. Hendricks?"

"Aurora Mackay? Is that you?" He exclaimed, blinking through his large glasses. "My, the last time I saw you, was at your graduation from Basic Schooling."

"Five years," Aura smiled at her old teacher. "I didn't know you stopped teaching."

"Your brothers helped with that." Aura let out a heavy sigh. Her brothers weren't exactly little angels, the exact _opposite_ in fact. "Anyways," Dr. Hendricks started. "You have a package for me?"

"Yes sir," Aura held out the tube to him as well as the note card. Hendricks grabbed both, snatched a pen from the desk and scribbled his signature on the note card.

"Here you are and—Aimee Wright?" Hendricks blinked as he took notice of the other girl. "When did you come in?"

"Oh, I came here with Aura."

"Well, I need to get these glasses checked then. Are you two partners in the delivery business? And five years, you two are graduating too aren't you?" Hendricks asked as he wiped his glasses.

"We are not quite partners yet, sir," Aimee returned politely as Aura walked to stand beside her._ But we consider ourselves as_ _partners_, Aura thought. "Our graduation ceremony is today."

"I'll see if I can find the time to attend. My job here in the IMA is more demanding but the work does intrigue me. I'm not surprised you two are partners. You two were practically inseparable in Basic Schooling."

Both girls smiled. The two of them met in Basic Schooling which started at the age of five then ended after seven years. In those years, the students received their basic education in math, history, science and other subjects. It is followed by a month of deciding whether you want to go more in depth in education or start an apprentice ship and choose which career to pursue. Those seven years had ups and downs for Aura and Aimee, especially since they hated each other the first year they met.

"Thank you girls for delivering the package," Hendricks addressed the two of them. Aura's curiosity itched to know what the package was and what her former teacher does in the IMA but she kept her mouth shut. It was against Hermes policy. _The orders will go through the Sorting Branch, get approved by both me and the government before they are given to the branch that will do the actual delivering. There's no need for you to ask what's in the package. It will be rude and unnecessary. Don't do it. _Those were Madame Ophelda's exact words, and they still rang through Aura's head.

"No problem," Aimee replied. "It was good to see you again, Doctor. But we have to hurry and get ready."

"Of course. Good luck in the future!" Hendricks called happily as the two girls walked back out.

"You two aren't the usual Hermes that come here," one of the guards immediately said as soon as they stepped out. "I'm hurt that you guys didn't recognize me."

Aura whirled around. She narrowed her eyes and stared at them. "Carter! Daniel!" The two of them smiled at her realization.

"Whoa, it is you guys, the Farx brothers," Aimee exclaimed. "How were we supposed to know it was you guys with those helmets covering half your faces?"

"Well, Aura just recognized us," the elder of the two, Daniel, pointed out.

"Right you are, brother," Carter said then turned to Aimee. "You're getting old if you can't recognize us."

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Aura asked as Aimee stuck her tongue out at Carter. "And may I point out that no matter how old we are, you two will always be older."

"If I was a woman, I'd probably be offended," Daniel replied calmly.

"If you were a woman, our whole gender would be offended," Aura muttered.

"Excuse me?" Daniel exclaimed, mockingly hurt, as Carter and Aimee sniggered. "I would be one hell of a woman."

"And the sandwiches you'd make would wipe out the rest of mankind," Carter returned to his brother as the girls burst into laughter.

"Yeah, well then next time, _you _make lunch," Daniel snapped.

"Gladly," Carter gave Daniel a wide smile then turned to the girls. "This is the first time we've seen you make deliveries here. Did you guys get promoted?"

"We have yet to graduate. What makes you think we've been promoted? Derek just wanted us to see the building so he gave us that last package." Aimee replied.

Carter shrugged. "Just asking. But I don't think the building is the reason he gave you that package."

"Yeah, he must've sent you guys to see us. It has been a long time," Daniel added.

"Don't flatter yourselves," Aura sneered back. "Dr. Hendricks was in there. He probably wanted us to see our old teacher before graduating."

"No, it's definitely us," Daniel said, continuing his air of arrogance.

Aura rolled her eyes as Aimee replied "Well it's nice seeing you guys again but we have to get ready for graduation."

"Oh yeah, well be going to that. You know, as actual _guards_."

"Alright, see you then!" Aimee called as she and Aura leaped onto a nearby ladder.

* * *

"What do you think they have in there?" Aimee asked as they reached the horizontal landscape of the Middle Ring.

"In where? The IMA?" Aura returned, catching her breath. _I need to get used to climbing ladders. It's more tiring than flipping over buildings._

"Yeah. I know it's supposed to be top secret and everything but still. Also, I want to know how the weather isn't affecting anything in the City."

"It's because of the Core," Aura muttered before she could stop herself.

"Wait, you mean _the Core_?" Aimee asked incredulously then dropped her voice as Aura silently cursed herself. "As in the one that runs the City?" Aura only nodded. "How the heck do you know about that? It's supposed to be a secret unless you're a _high ranking_ engineer."

"Or asked to be an apprentice of a high ranking engineer," Aura whispered bitterly. Aimee was giving her a surprised look. "Okay, I was asked to be the apprentice of a high ranking engineer that works in the Core before we even began in Ophelda's."

"How come you never told me?" Aimee exasperated.

Aura let out a sigh and began walking, satisfied that Aimee started following but didn't ask any more questions. "Something about that place just gives me bad vibes. We've been in the first couple layers of Cervidae but the IMA is different."

"You mean the slick building, not-so-friendly welcome ladies, lots of work, the secrecy and the government protection? I mean the package we had to deliver wasn't exactly normal. It was in a _freaking tube _for crying out loud!"

"Blueprints, pieces of art and other large documents that can't be damaged by folded creases are packaged in tubes. And no, that's not it," Aura thought back to when she was ten. Her father was still around at the time. Aiden Mackay was a great father and his children loved him. He was kind and rarely got angry but when Aura was offered the 'highest honor of working in the Core' her father was beyond enraged. Though he was completely against it, he gave the choice to his daughter. But he did accompany her when an engineer showed them around IMA and even the Core.

Aura froze mid-step. She has never forgotten what the Core looked like. It was literally the heart of the stag. Though everyone has heard of the Core, only a select few have actually _seen _it. To Aura, the Core was a giant swirling mass of light, but she knew it wasn't light but _something_ else, miles under the City. Aura felt something drain out of her as soon as she saw it. She later remembered that the swirling mass was _pulsing. With the heartbeat of Cervidae herself_ the engineer had declared proudly. That was around the time that Aura started feeling sick and her father had demanded that they leave. She didn't even remember leaving. All she knew that when she woke up, she was back home, her twin brothers chasing each other somewhere and her father looking worriedly down at her. Whenever she asked her father what happened and why she felt so sick, all he said was "It's the Arcane. Don't ever go near it again," then refused to talk about the topic again.

"Aura!" Aimee was snapping her fingers in front of friends face. "Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?"

"No, not exactly," Aura muttered rather bluntly.

"Ugh! Never mind then. Forget I asked about the―whatever the heck is in the IMA. Let's just deliver that package of yours and get back to headquarters," Aimee exclaimed and took a running start towards a building. Aura followed her quietly.

"Okay, that takes care of that," Aura breathed as she reached the top of the building after delivering her final package. "Let's get back to headquarters."

* * *

The headquarters was just right down the street from where they were. Aura always saw that place as a second home. When Aura first saw it, she thought it was the most peculiar building in the City. It was about thirty stories tall with large windows covering all four walls that open with a key. That way, it was easier for messengers to come and go. Right now, there were barely any Hermes around. During the week, there would so many messengers coming in and out, it was almost chaotic.

Aura knew from her studies that there were a total of four Hermes Headquarters throughout Cervidae. Each one had jurisdiction over a quadrant of the City. The quadrants were split up just like a clock; Minute 1 through 15 is the first quadrant, Minute 16-30 for the second, Minute 31-45 as the third and Minute 46-0 as the fourth.

"Aura! Aimee!" Derek called from a window on the twenty-sixth floor. The two girls scaled the building in seconds thanks to the steel bars webbed around the building, designed for the deliverers to climb onto. "Aura, Mom wants to talk to you and she's where she usually is. Aimee," he addressed 'his ginger', "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Guts and courage," Aura whispered to Aimee's ear before walking away. The poor girl was too busy fighting off her blush to come up with a retort for Aura.

Aura made her way passed them to one of the many doors that lined the hallway across from the windows. Inside the door was hollow, from the first floor to the twenty ninth. Chutes lined the walls as ladders and steel beams webbed the empty space. Sorted packages travel down those chutes and are deposited to the right platforms where they will be picked up by deliverers on Monday. The beams were used to climb the different floors instead of stairs.

Having been an apprentice for five years, she knew by heart where each beam is and which way to take to get to her mentor. It was in that building that Aura first felt the tingling of pre-jump anticipation. But she had to clear her mind first; the adrenaline rush follows after a few seconds airborne. In no time at all, Aura reached the highest door and clambered through. To the left of that door were stairs, the only set in the whole building, that Aura knew led to Madame Ophelda's office.

Even through the heavy set oak doors leading to her office, Aura was able to hear Ophelda Sellick's accented voice screaming at a very unlucky soul. Aura placed a hand on the door knob and silently pushed the door open. She found Ophelda pacing back and forth, face scrunched in frustration and a large phone pressed firmly to the side of her face. Ophelda was a large woman, with thick graying hair and towered a good six inches over her son, Derek. She was standing by the large oak desk in the back of the room, facing the door like in a principal's office. A map of the City's third quadrant dominated the back wall while schedules, pictures and colored calendars covered the other walls. Papers were strewn everywhere; over the reddish-brown rug on the floor and all over the small tables on the corners and on a couch on the side.

"I SAID NO ONE IS TO DISTURB ME!"

_Oh no._ The thought barely passed through Aura's mind before her reflexes came in. Despite the lightning fast reflexes she developed from her training and dodging the attacks of her younger brothers, Aura ducked but still felt something graze the top of her head at an incredible speed.

"Oh Aura, it's you," Ophelda simply said when she noticed her. Aura straightened up, rubbing the heated line on her head as her teacher briefly turned her attention back on the phone. "Listen, I don't have time to deal with you so I'm gonna make this quick. We were informed that we would be receiving twenty packages to send out and we received thirty. Now unless you want those ten thrown over the side of the City, _you_ get your sorry ass down here and get them _yourself_."

She slammed the phone down on the receiver as Aura went to pick up whatever it was that her teacher used to almost take off her head. "This is one durable picture frame," she said as she handed it back to Ophelda.

"Yeah, sorry about that, dear," Ophelda sighed then gingerly plucked the frame from Aura's hands. "This was Derek and his older brother," she chuckled, showing the younger girl the picture. It was a picture of a young man with dirty blonde hair with the same green speckled eyes as the baby he was holding. Aura recognized the baby as Derek with the curling brown hair, green eyes and a brown complexion that she used to think was a tan.

"That's his brother? He looks as if he could be his father," Aura muttered.

"They had an age gap of eighteen years. Chandler is my oldest and Derek is my youngest. Then there's the three girls in between them," Ophelda explained. "Anyways, that's enough about that because today is your big day. You are about to graduate in a couple hours. How's it feel?"

"I―uh―,"Aura stuttered. Was there a certain way she was _supposed _to feel? Should she be excited? Nervous? Scared? "Honestly, I'm not sure I feel anything about it. I mean, I'm going to be doing the same thing as I am now aren't I?"

Ophelda looked at her straight in the eye with a small smile playing on her face. Aura shifted on her feet uncomfortably but returned her teacher's stare. Her eyes had more of bluish tint in it instead of the green ones Derek had. They stood out even more with the tent-like floral green dress that she was wearing. The dress came down to her shins, allowing the thick pants she wears underneath them to be seen. The dress gave her the appearance of a burly old woman who can lift trees over her head. Aura wouldn't be surprised at all if she could.

Unable to take anymore of the awkward silence and intense staring, Aura opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when the doors to her office burst open.

"Only my son has the audacity to burst into my office without my permission or even _knocking_," Ophelda sighed and turned towards the door. Sure enough, Derek was casually strolling in, beaming at his mother, with Aimee following him.

"Hey mom, sorry to interrupt," Derek greeted and stopped in front of his mother as Aura made her way to her partner. "I just figured that they'd want to leave as soon as possible and get ready."

"Yeah you're probably right," Ophelda muttered. "Alright let's get down to business." Aura and Aimee instinctively straightened up at the seriousness her tone reached. "Today marks the last day of your apprenticeship and the first of your days to be full-fledged members of the Hermes Delivery Service."

"Usually when an apprentice graduates, we don't do this—" started Derek but Aimee interrupted.

"You said that this was a tradition!" Aimee protested and was elbowed by Aura. She immediately clamped her mouth shut.

"It is. Just let me finish," Derek replied calmly. "This tradition is different. You know that the teacher chooses the apprentice, right?" Aura and Aimee nodded. "And have you two decided to be partners?" They nodded again. "Then this will be easier."

"Come here you two," announced Ophelda, who was making her way behind the desk. Derek smiled at them as they turned towards his mother. "We are doing this little meeting right now because—well, let's just get this over with—I want you to join our Elite Branch."

Aura and Aimee were left speechless.

"You―you mean the―?" Aura choked out after a moment while Aimee stared incredulously at their boss.

"Yes, I want you to join my small circle of trustees for important, and government, deliveries. Aura, you have been my apprentice for the past five years. And Aimee you have been Derek's. We have both agreed that the two of you are more than trustworthy and the delivery to the IMA proved that further."Aura involuntarily glanced at Derek who caught her eye and smiled then Ophelda continued. "I also understand that your former teacher was there. He personally told us over the phone that you two were more than ready and he had faith in your reliability and dedication to this City. Ladies, I will only offer this once, and you know that it is a rare occurrence that I do. Will you accept?"

Aura felt pride swell up inside her as well as a reddening on her cheeks. She and Aimee were being _asked_ to join the Elite Branch. "Of course we would, right Aimee?"

She looked to her friend who was still frozen in shock. Aura, not wanting her friend to embarrass herself, elbowed her painfully on the side. "Ouch―I mean, yes, we would. It would be a great honor."

A smile tugged at Ophelda's lips. "Alright then, I now declare you two as partners under the Elite Branch of the Hermes Delivery Service of Quadrant III," she declared proudly then sighed. "There's a whole process to this, and I hope you don't mind because I'm going to shorten it. We really don't have time for the whole thing so I'm just going to ask you to swear loyalty to the well-being of the City and follow the orders of the mine and the government for the good of its people."

"I swear," the two girls replied back in unison, causing Ophelda's smile to widen. Aura glanced over to Derek, who was leaning against the edge of his mother's desk, and saw a small grin on his face as well.

"Well that takes care of that," said Ophelda, relaxing her shoulders. "I congratulate the two of you and welcome you to the workforce. I would throw a party in your honor but more important events await you."

Aura felt her own shoulders relax, unaware that they had tensed in the first place. She couldn't believe it. She and Aimee were now part of the _Elite Branch_. She fought the urge to give her boss—no longer her teacher—a big hug.

"That's right, you have a graduation ceremony to get ready for," Derek spoke up. Aura felt Aimee, who probably forgot he was there, flinch beside her. "You two should get going. We'll see you girls then."


End file.
